APM Terminal modifies cranes for Triple Es

APM Terminals said its Rotterdam Maasvlakte I terminal will modify five of its existing post-Panamax cranes so they can reach across 23 rows of containers and accommodate the latest generation of ultra-large container ships.
The retrofitting involves engineering and software adjustments expected to be completed in time for the arrival of the 18,000-TEU Marie Maersk. The vessel, which is the fourth of the Maersk Line EEE-Class vessels that are currently the world’s largest ships of any type, is scheduled to arrive in Rotterdam on Dec. 6 as part of the weekly Asia/North Europe AE10 service.
“We are continuously anticipating and adapting to our customers’ needs to provide industry-leading efficiency and productivity,” said APM Terminals European Portfolio Manager Ben Vree.
The world’s first 18,000-TEU vessel, the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, paid its maiden call to APM Terminals Rotterdam on Aug. 16. The EEE class vessels, at 59 meters (194 feet) wide, are 9 meters wider than the 15,000-TEU Maersk E-Class vessels, which have a capacity of 15,500 TEUs. Triple E-class vessels have containers stacked 23 rows wide across the deck, while current post-Panamax cranes were constructed with a 22-container-wide reach.
APM Terminals Rotterdam set a new terminal productivity record on the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, with berth productivity of 215 gross moves per hour and crane productivity of 37.1 gross moves per hour.
The adjacent facility, APM Terminals Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte II site, being built on land reclaimed from the North Sea, opens November 2014 with an initial annual throughput capacity of 2.7 million TEUs. The terminal, which will be the most technologically advanced container facility in the world, will be equipped with eight remote-controlled super-Post Panamax cranes, each with a 25-container-wide reach.
APM Terminals Rotterdam is currently one of the busiest container terminals in Europe, handling 2.5 million TEUs in 2012.